


Once Upon a Marauder

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Marauders' Era, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-10-15
Updated: 2007-01-02
Packaged: 2019-01-19 16:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12414177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: A boy and a girl. Each perfect in their own rights. He's popular. Handsome. Athletic. She's respected. Smart. But this was just the cover image. This was not what they were. Because in truth, they were so much less. And yet they were so much more. Please read and review. =)





	1. Of Nightclubs, Fiancees, and Old Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

**Okay, I hope the formatting in this finally works! Anyway, read, enjoy, review!**

* * *

The blazing sunlight streaming through the windows gently shook Lily Evans from her sleep. _Ugh,_ she thought. _It’s too bloody early to be awake._ She rolled over onto her stomach and pulling the down comforter over her head, covering herself in instant darkness. _Much better,_ Lily thought, smiling, and fell back to sleep.  <b><b>

 

Only a bit later, she was jolted from her sleep again by the incessant sound of tapping. Lily sat up slowly in confusion, and then realization hit her. “Bloody owls,” she muttered, stumbling out of bed and opening the window. She was greeted by an entourage of four owls. Lily blinked.<b><b>

And then— _my birthday—_ she thought. She recognized three of the owls; two belonged to her best friends, Sophia Lexington and Michelle Matthews, the third to her friend Remus Lupin. The fourth, she assumed, was her Hogwarts letter. Lily read Sophia’s first.<b><b>

_My little Lilikins is growing up!_ <b><b>

_Ha. Couldn’t resist. Sorry, anyway, Happy birthday, Lils. You’re finally 15—a perfect age to go to fifth year in-this year will be brilliant! How’s Diego’s? I’m down in Hawaii right now. American’s are so odd. I’ll bring some back and we’ll make a zoo. Its really hot down here-I’m spending most of my time in my bikini at the beach. I have such a tan right now, plus I learned to surf. (Not well, I might add.) I’m coming home this afternoon. I’ll show you some pictures. You and Michelle should meet me in Diagon Alley; we can spend a weekend at my house. Well, the last trip to the beach calls. Write back._ <b><b>

_Love, Sophia_ <b><b>

Lily smiled, and then rolled her eyes thinking of Diego’s, the restaurant that she was spending the summer waitressing at for some extra money. She would change it into Galleons at Gringotts when she made her annual trip to Diagon Alley. She grabbed a quill and some parchment, and began to scribble a reply.<b><b>

_Dear Fee,_ <b><b>

_Another year older, and I look like a first year. I still haven’t hit puberty, and I’m the shortest in our year! I’m hoping that this summer I will hit a growth spurt in the height department as well as in the curves department- It’d be nice to get out of an A cup. Well, we’ll hit Diagon Alley and get some books with glamour spells, that’ll be fun. Diego’s is fine, albeit noisy, smelly, messy, and full of rude customers. At least I’m making money, and the only good think about looking eleven is coming into play here- I’m not being hit on by old men. This one girl, Sarah, who’s just a year older then me, has her arse grabbed at least twice a day! I’d love to spend the weekend at your house; there are a few weekends I could come. You’ll have to write me and Michelle so we can find some time to go. Bye-bye, Fee, have fun with the boys. Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do! (Scratch that—I don’t do anything, so if you didn’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you wouldn’t have any fun!)_ <b><b>

_Love, Lily_ <b><b>

She tied the letter to Sophia’s owl’s leg, and sent Sephion, the owl, off. Then she opened Michelle’s letter.<b><b>

_Dear Lily,_ <b><b>

_Happy Fifteenth! I’m hoping your summer hasn’t been as boring as mine-nothing’s happened. Mum’s spending the summer in Brazil with her fiancé, so I’ve been with Dad. But as he’s been working the whole time, I’ve become very good at keeping up with my studies. I daresay I’ll enter the Hogwarts nearly as smart as you. I think I probably have all of my books memorized. I have so much more to tell you, but its better to tell in person than in a letter. Fee wrote me and invited me up for a weekend, so I guess I’ll see you then._ <b><b>

_Love, Michelle_ <b><b>

Lily smiled again, and wrote back:<b><b>

_Dear Michelle,_ <b><b>

_Thanks. I can’t wait to see you, and hear what’s happened. Get this—Petunia’s getting married, to some bloke called Vernon Dursley. I’m so happy for her, and I can’t wait to meet Vernon- I hope he deserves her! I’m to be a bridesmaid. She’s not having a maid of honor. I wouldn’t either, if I ever get married. I’d never be able to choose between you and Fee. We’re going dress shopping soon. You’ll have to write back with your phone number. Talking on the phone is so much easier than writing letters. See you soon!_ <b><b>

_Love, Lily_ <b><b>

Lily sent Michelle’s owl off, then took the letter from the last owl she recognized.<b><b>

_Hi, Lily,_ <b><b>

_Well, its summer, and I’m at James’s house. Surprisingly, Sirius is here too, as he often is. I swear that boy is here more than he is at his own house. (In the background he’s yelling that he is, in fact here more often, because his parents are a “stuck up bunch of pricks who should go shag the giant squid”). James would also like me to inform you that you are very uptight and maybe that would change if you “gained some weight up top and got laid”. (He made me put that in, sorry.) I’m going to go now, since they’re yelling at me to send this letter already and get my arse outside to play Quidditch. Happy birthday, see you on the train._ <b><b>

_Your friend, Remus_ <b><b>

_P.S. I made prefect._ <b><b>

_P.P.S. I wonder who the other one is, I bet its you._ <b><b>

Lily’s eyes narrowed at the mention of James Potter and Sirius Black, but she sent a reply back to Remus.<b><b>

_Dear Remus,_ <b><b>

_I must say I pity you, spending the summer with Potter and Black. Sorry, I know they’re your friends, but I can’t stand them. Please tell Sirius that his parents probably don’t need to shag the giant squid because he’s gone and told him what its like. And tell James that my chest is none of his concern and that he needs to think about something besides sex and Quidditch, especially since he's never done either. Congratulations on making prefect, who’s the other one?_ <b><b>

_Lily_ <b><b>

She turned to the final owl, bracing herself-this one would hold her marks for her fourth year. She opened the letter, and a scarlet and gold badge fell out.<b><b>

_Dear Ms. Evans_ <b><b>

_Congratulations on being made Gryffindor Prefect. You have been chosen because of your outstanding performance in the last four years. As a prefect, your responsibilities will include planning Hogsmeade weekends, school functions, extracurricular activities, and reinforcement of rules. You will also be expected to keep up with your grades. Failure to comply with all requirements will result in your prefect status being revoked. Have a nice summer_ <b><b>

_Minerva McGonagall_ <b><b>

_Deputy Headmistress_ <b><b>

Lily let out a small shriek and read through her marks- outstanding grades in every subject, and then rushed downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were already awake, as was Petunia.<b><b>

“Happy Birthday,” all three of them chorused.<b><b>

“Thanks,” Lily said, hugging each of them in turn. “I made prefect!” she cried, her eyes shining.<b><b>

Her parents made pleased sounds. “Congratulations!” Petunia said. “Have some food.” Lily sat down and ate. When she finished, Petunia spoke again.<b><b>

“Vernon wants to take us all out to dinner tomorrow,” she announced.<b><b>

“Oh, that’s great! I really want to meet him!” Lily cried. “Where are we going?”<b><b>

“This wonderful place called Sunlight Grove. I haven’t been there before, but I’ve heard that the food’s fantastic.”<b><b>

“I’m sure it will be very fun,” Mrs. Evans said. “Now, shouldn’t you two be going?”<b><b>

“Going?” Lily asked. “Where?”<b><b>

“It’s a surprise,” Petunia winked. “Why don’t you wear your green sundress and white platform shoes?”<b><b>

Lily went upstairs, and put on the dress that Petunia had suggested. It was pale green, with a halter neck. It was short, it came to Lily’s thigh, and it appeared shorter when Lily wore the sandals, which at least made her look a bit taller. As an afterthought, she grabbed a light-weight white sweater.<b><b>

When she came down, Petunia was holding car keys. “Come on, Lily,” she said, leading her out into the garage and into her non-descript car. The short ride was filled with mindless chatter, lasting only ten minutes. They arrived at a nondescript white building wedged in between a supermarket and a department store.<b><b>

The entrance hall was as white and nondescript as its exterior, with a few dark green chairs lining the walls. Petunia sank into one, crossing and uncrossing her legs as she stared at her watch. Finally a tall Asian woman wearing appeared from another room.<b><b>

“Petunia Evans?” she said, striding over to them. Petunia stood up. “I’m Joanne,” she said, extending a manicured hand. “And you are,” she said, taking in Lily’s appearance.<b><b>

“Lily,” she said, taking Joanne’s hand.<b><b>

“Excellent,” she said crisply. “Follow me.”<b><b>

“What are we doing here?” Lily whispered to Petunia as they followed Joanne into a room to the left of the hall.<b><b>

“You, my dear Lily, are going to get a makeover. First stop, hair salon,” Petunia said, leading Lily into the room Joanne had just entered. Petunia and Joanne conversed for a few minutes with a stylist, and half an hour later, Lily was lead into another room.<b><b>

“Can I look in a mirror?” she asked.<b><b>

“No,” Joanne said firmly. “You’ll be able to see yourself when you’re done.”<b><b>

Lily had her eyebrows waxed, and had makeup put on. She lost count of what was put on her, but Petunia bought the products that were used. “All part of the birthday present,” she said. Finally, Lily was lead to a mirror.<b><b>

Her hair wasn’t much shorter, but instead was cut into red layers that fell to her shoulder blades. Her eyebrows were in perfect arches, though a bit too thin. The eye-makeup was mostly natural, which Lily liked: brown eyeliner, pale gold eye shadow, and brown mascara framed her green eyes. She wore no lipstick, but instead a brownish-pink gloss.<b><b>

Petunia whistled. “Wow, this looks so great! Thanks!” Lily said, rushing over to hug her older sister.<b><b>

“Thank you,” Lily said to Joanne.<b><b>

“My pleasure,” she said crisply. “Come back again.”<b><b>

“I always loved makeovers when I was your age,” Petunia sighed in remembrance as they walked back to the car.<b><b>

“And now you’re what? Fifty?” Lily joked.<b><b>

“Twenty,” Petunia said with a smirk.<b><b>

“Close enough.” Lily said, looking back into the full-length mirror. Petunia took the opportunity to check her thin gold watch.<b><b>

“We still have time left,” she said. “Let’s go see a movie.” Lily immediately agreed, and the two climbed into Petunia’s car and set out to the cinema.<b><b>

****<b><b>

Lily didn’t know what the movie was; it was an overly clichéd romantic movie: girl meets boy, boy and girl hate each other, boy and girl fall in love, girl unknowingly breaks boy’s heart, boy and girl are depressed, they meet up again, fall in love, and live happily ever after. Again.<b><b>

What caught her attention was the male lead. It wasn’t an actor that she had seen in another movie. The one she was currently watching wasn’t a major movie; it was most likely the actor’s first movie—yet he looked undeniably familiar. She racked her brain, and suddenly, it came to her.<b><b>

Darren Brians was two years older than Lily, and was a Ravenclaw prefect. _Though_ , she thought, _it wouldn’t be unlikely if he had become the Head Boy_. <b><b>

The actor didn’t look exactly like Darren. Darren’s nose was longer, more arched, then the actor’s small, sharp nose. The actor’s hair, though the same pale blonde as Darren’s, was long and fell into his face, while Darren’s was short and tidy. But they had the same blue-grey eyes, the same long, smoky lashes, the same full lips. _Same kissable lips,_ Lily thought, then cringed and felt herself going red. Yet it was true. When Lily finally had her first kiss, she wouldn’t mind it being with Darren.<b><b>

She thought about Darren for the rest of the movie.<b><b>

****<b><b>

“So, Lily, what did you think?” Petunia said as they were pulling out of the parking lot.<b><b>

“Mmm,” Lily mumbled noncommittally. “It was okay.”<b><b>

“Yeah, I just loved Lucy and Matthew’s wedding! The flowers were exquisite- white petunias! Vernon wants petunias to be the flowers in our wedding, but now I know that they should definitely be white. And Lucy’s dress was breathtaking!”<b><b>

Lily realized that Petunia was talking about the characters in the movie, and that they must have had a wedding at the end. Then she realized something, and interrupted Petunia’s praise of the movie.<b><b>

“Why does happily ever after always have to involve marriage?” Lily asked.<b><b>

“Hmm?” Petunia asked in confusion.<b><b>

“Fairy tales and movies never end with just regular love. They end with marriage,” Lily explained.<b><b>

“I sort of see what you’re saying. I guess it is a bit clichéd…” Petunia trailed off. “But marriage is the ultimate act of love. People don’t get married unless they’re truly in love. Or drunk," she added as an afterthought. "So in these romantic stories, the wedding is a proof of their undying love. Everything else can go wrong, two people can lose everything, yet they still have everything when they have love. I guess that stories always end up that way to reassure the world around them, and stabilize things.”<b><b>

“I’d welcome the change once in a while,” Lily objected.<b><b>

“I’m sure that you would. But for some people, it’s the little things that hold everything together. If just one thing changes, they’ll unconsciously notice the other changes, small and major, and everything could fall apart.”<b><b>

Lily paused and thought about what Petunia had said. “I don’t know,” Lily said doubtfully. “I guess that it makes sense, but still, it doesn’t.” Petunia nodded in understanding. “Anyway, I’ve always been told that _sex_ is the ultimate act of love.”<b><b>

“I’d like to think so,” Petunia said heavily. “But I can’t, because it’s not true. Sex isn’t always about love. There isn’t any love in rape, and that’s sex. People have sex when they’re not in love, as much as I’d like it to not be true.”<b><b>

“But that’s not the way it should be,” said Lily.<b><b>

“I know, but that’s the way it is,” Petunia said. “I won’t try to make you save yourself for marriage-”<b><b>

“But I plan to!” Lily protested.<b><b>

“I know you want to. I didn’t think I would lose my virginity before I was married, but that wasn’t the way it turned out. But Lily, please promise me that you won’t sleep with anyone unless you’re absolutely _sure_ that you love them.” <b><b>

“I promise,” Lily said.<b><b>

“Good. I don’t want you to get hurt.” They sat in silence for a few moments.<b><b>

“Petunia?”<b><b>

“Yes?”<b><b>

“You said that you had wanted to save yourself for marriage but it didn’t end up that way-”<b><b>

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Petunia said firmly. Lily thought that it would be best to not argue.<b><b>

****<b><b>

“Lily! Lily, wake up!” Lily groaned and rolled over. “Lily!” a hand turned on her bedside lamp. Lily sat up with a start.<b><b>

“Petunia!” she hissed. “Its—one twenty-two!” Lily squinted at the clock.<b><b>

“And that’s why you’d better be quiet,” Petunia advised. “We are going to further celebrate your birthday by going to a nightclub.” As Lily’s eyes adjusted to the light, she saw that Petunia was wearing a white skirt and a blue scoop-necked shirt.<b><b>

“Get up!” Petunia urged.<b><b>

Lily rolled out of bed, rubbing her eyes.<b><b>

“I’ve already got out some clothes for you to wear,” Petunia said, throwing some clothes at her. “Change.”<b><b>

Lily was still half-asleep, so she did so without question. When she saw herself in the mirror, however, she began to question the outfit. She wore a tight, black skirt that was so short she was sure that if she bent over, she’d be giving whoever it was behind her quite a view. The halter top was made of silver, slippery material. It was cut to just below her collarbone in the front, but exposed most of her back.<b><b>

“I look like a bloody prostitute!” she hissed.<b><b>

“No, you don’t!” Petunia said, waving a hand in dismissal. “Now sit down so I can do your makeup.” Petunia used her own makeup on Lily- _Just as well, the makeup she bought me today would be used up in one night—_ and spent five minutes brushing Lily’s hair before she pronounced Lily done and spun her around to see the mirror.<b><b>

She was wearing a lot of black eyeliner and mascara, combined with dark eyeshadow to give her eyes a smoky effect. Her lipstick was a dark, sultry red. “If I didn’t look like a prostitute then, I bloody well do now!” Lily exclaimed quietly.<b><b>

“Watch your language,” Petunia jokingly reprimanded. “And really, you don’t. Not compared to some of the other people you’ll see there. Besides, it’ll be dark, so you _have_ to have a lot on so it can be seen.”<b><b>

“Shame that rule doesn’t apply to clothes as well,” Lily muttered.<b><b>

****<b><b>

The nightclub was, as Petunia had promised, plenty dark, but Lily still kept pulling her skirt down nervously.<b><b>

“Relax!” Petunia laughed. “Just dance and have some fun. I’m going to. See you!” and Petunia walked off.<b><b>

“Easy for you to say,” Lily scowled. It was true: Petunia had golden hair and deep blue eyes, and a tall, curvy figure. She would have no problem attracting men. Lily, on the other hand, with her red hair, vivid green eyes, peaky complexion, and small, non-existent figure, _would_ have a problem.<b><b>

She spent a few sour moments watching Petunia dancing with a tall, dark-haired, someone, and then she felt a tap on her shoulder.<b><b>

“You seem lonely.” He was handsome with black hair, hazel eyes, and a smile. Lily could barely hear him. She nodded. “I’m Aden,” he said. He didn’t make a move to extend his hand.<b><b>

“Lily,” she said. She didn’t extend hers either.<b><b>

“Can I buy you a drink?” he offered, sensing her discomfort.<b><b>

Lily hesitated, then—“Alright,” she said, surprising herself.<b><b>

“Excellent, I’ll be right back,” Aden said with a lazy smile.<b><b>

Lily sighed and leaned against the wall. _Have some fun for once!_ She scolded herself. _Have a drink and dance with Aden. It won’t hurt you!_ Resigned, Lily stood up straighter and tried to assume a less stiff stance. <b><b>

Soon, Aden returned with two glasses.<b><b>

“Thanks,” Lily said, taking the one that he handed her.<b><b>

“No problem,” he said, swallowing a mouthful of his own.<b><b>

“What is this?” she asked, peering at the amber liquid.<b><b>

“I’m not entirely sure,” Aden said, looking up as if trying to remember what the drink could be. Then he looked back, shrugged, and drank some more of his own.<b><b>

Following suit, Lily choked down a bit from her own glass. Aden grinned, and she drank more, surprised to find that it was easier to get down once she was used to it.<b><b>

“Want to dance?” she said loudly—the music was too loud to hear anything said in a normal voice.<b><b>

“Sure,” Aden said. Lily led him out onto the dance floor. They were both a bit awkward at first, but after a few minutes of watching people, Lily began to feel the music flow through her and she started dancing. _It’s not hard once you get into it,_ Lily reasoned, and it was true. Just half an hour ago, she had been standing against a wall, expecting not to have any fun, and now, she was dancing like it was the most natural thing with an extremely attractive guy. <b><b>

“Come on, dance!” Lily laughed, moving around Aden to dance behind him. Finally, he, too, started dancing, and the couple moved in sync with the rest of the room. A few songs later, they stopped.<b><b>

“Wow, I’m getting hot!” Lily said, wiping her forehead a bit with her hand.<b><b>

Aden muttered something.<b><b>

“What was that?” Lily asked.<b><b>

“Oh, er, nothing,” Aden said quickly, looking a bit embarrassed. “D’you want another drink?”<b><b>

“Yeah,” Lily said. Aden left, and Lily continued to dance a bit by herself, scanning the room for more people, but Aden was soon back. This drink went down more quickly then the last one; Lily was now used to it, and she was also fairly thirsty.<b><b>

A hand spun Lily around. “Luke,” another dark-haired boy said, though not as handsome as Aden.<b><b>

“Lily,” she said, and started dancing with Luke. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aden, looking crestfallen. Then he shrugged his shoulders, and sidled up to a curvy brunette girl.<b><b>

The music changed to a faster song, and Lily’s dance picked up speed. Luke’s movements followed her own.<b><b>

There was no way to describe what Lily felt. She was normally so uptight, so rule abiding. Now, in the early morning in the nightclub, (aided by a few drinks) Lily’s rules didn’t seem to matter. Nothing seemed to matter, except for the music and the movement of the bodies all over the room. It was a high, Lily realized, a high that couldn’t be obtained by drugs. It was pure exhilaration, pure happiness.<b><b>

And then the song ended, and over the loud music, she just barely heard Luke say that he was going to get drinks. She barely registered that she had already had two drinks, and the drinks she had already had were much stronger than her previous experience with alcohol: a bit of champagne and butterbeer. She saw a few men look her up and down; she knew that her dancing was less conservative with every passing second.<b><b>

When Luke appeared with her drink, she didn’t stop to notice that she was no longer drinking the amber liquid; this stuff was clear. It was gone in seconds. Lily didn’t want to waste her time not dancing. Luke joined her when he finished his own, but Lily was already dancing with someone else. She hadn’t quite caught his name.<b><b>

And so continued the dancing game; a new dancing partner every few songs, each partner bringing her a drink of some kind, until Lily lost track of exactly how many drinks and dance partners she had had. At some point, she found herself back with Aden.<b><b>

“Hey,” she said, running a hand through her hair as she danced.<b><b>

“Hey.” Lily was dancing closer to Aden than she had with anyone else that night. Then there was a solitary song where the beat slowed down, and she danced with her head pressed to his chest. His pounding heart beat a melody in her mind, a melody so sweet and erotic. Lily looked up into his hazel eyes; he looked down into her green ones. He leaned down, closed his eyes. She closed hers. Inches away from his face, something snapped in her head.<b><b>

“What are you doing?” she demanded, stepping away.<b><b>

“I was going to kiss you!” he said, his voice sounding slightly slurred and confused.<b><b>

“That wasn’t in my plan,” she said as firmly as she could muster in her drunken state. “I’ve never been kissed, and I want my first kiss to be with someone special!”<b><b>

Aden looked shocked. Then his hazel eyes went cold. “Bloody tease,” he muttered, then his shoulders slumped and he turned away. _Thank Merlin I won’t have any trouble from him,_ Lily thought. <b><b>

At that point, it seemed to kick in how very drunk she was. _I’m going to pass out soon,_ she realized. _I need Petunia to take me home._ Luckily, her sister wasn’t far away, and wasn’t drunk. <b><b>

“Oh, my,” Petunia said, seeing the glazed look in Lily’s eyes. “You’re going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow. I’d better get you home.”<b><b>

“I won’t argue with that,” Lily said, and then her knees collapsed.<b><b>

****<b><b>

Lily woke up entirely too early the next morning. She opened her eyes, and then shut them again. _“Ow,”_ she groaned. Was it just her, or was the sun ten times brighter that morning? And were the footsteps on the stairs ten times louder? <b><b>

And then it sounded like someone was pounding a bass drum right in her ear. And shooting off cannon. Rhythmically, over and over. The deafening sound of the opening door didn’t help.<b><b>

“Lily?” Petunia whispered.<b><b>

“My head is _killing_ me,” Lily groaned.<b><b>

“I know,” Petunia said. “You were pretty drunk; you have to expect a hangover.” Lily glared at her as best as she could. “I have aspirin.’<b><b>

“That is music to my ears,” Lily said, sitting up just enough so that she could swallow a few.<b><b>

“You’re in for a hell of a day,” Petunia said sympathetically. “Go take a cold shower and I’ll make you some breakfast. That should help.”<b><b>

Petunia helped Lily sit up, and then handed her a towel. Lily went into the bathroom, and Petunia went downstairs. As Lily stood under the cold water, some of the night’s even s came rushing back to her. She had to smile in spite of her hangover; she _had_ had a good time, it was no use denying it.<b><b>

When Lily went downstairs, Petunia had a mug of coffee and a bagel waiting for her.<b><b>

“Eat,” she advised. “It’ll help.” It was true; by the time she had sipped the last dregs of her coffee and eaten the last bite of bagel, her headache had greatly diminished.<b><b>

“You really owe me, you know,” Petunia said conversationally. “You threw up on me in the parking lot, and you threw up in the hall. It was disgusting, but I cleaned up for you.”<b><b>

Lily winced. “Sorry.”<b><b>

“It’s okay. God knows I’ve had my fair share of drunken vomiting.” Lily smiled. “You can start making it up by helping me and Mum pick out wedding dresses.”<b><b>

“Excellent.”<b><b>

****<b><b>

The dresses in the shops were frighteningly similar. The ones in the first store made Petunia look like a marshmallow. They were lacy, with puffy waists and ballooned sleeves. The second shop had unconventional dresses; Petunia quickly dismissed the small red dress and the forest green suit.<b><b>

“I plan to go for a traditional wedding,” she explained.<b><b>

They didn’t expect much from the third shop. They were right not to. It contained dresses that looked like they were from a child’s first communion. In the fourth shop, they finally had luck. The dress they ended up choosing was plain white and strapless. It was tastefully embroidered with seeded pearls. Petunia appeared to float while wearing it.<b><b>

Mrs. Evans wanted to go home after they found the dress, but her daughters overruled her. They looked for bridesmaid dresses. A saleslady there suggested a dress. It was reddish orange, fell to mid-calf, and had long sleeves. It was revolting.<b><b>

The second dress was all right. It was cream colored and was knee-length. It had a conservative neckline, and a low back, though not as low as the shirt that Lily had worn to the club. The third dress was a deep blue, also knee-length. It had almost no sleeves, a deep v neckline, and a swooping back. Petunia pronounced it perfect, and they left to get ready to meet Vernon for dinner.<b><b>

****<b><b>

At six o’clock, Mr. and Evans, Lily, and Petunia arrived at Sunshine Grove to meet Vernon Dursley. Lily took one look at the occupants of the restaurant and felt very glad that she had heeded Petunia’s suggestion to dress formally. She was wearing a white pencil skirt and lavender top. The outfit was dressed up with a pair of white-gold hoop earrings.<b><b>

Petunia was wearing a cream colored dress with a light pink floral print. Lily had wrinkled her nose in distaste when she saw it. “The colors don’t do much for me, do they?” Petunia said, sighing ruefully at Lily’s reaction. “Vernon bought it for me. Its one of his favorites.”<b><b>

Mr. Evans lead the family in, stopping to inform the maitre d’ that they were meeting a “Mr. Vernon Dursley.” They were lead to a candle-lit room in the back with a jazz piano playing softly in the background. Most of the tables were occupied, but one round table, set for five, had only one man sitting at it.<b><b>

Vernon Dursley seemed to be missing his neck. It had been replaced by a few extra chins, protruding sharply from the neck of his three-piece suit. He had small, piggish eyes, set deep into his rather fat face. Lily could barely make out that they were cobalt blue, perhaps the nicest feature that he possessed. His moustache and deteriorating hairline were beginning to turn what could kindly be described as “salt and pepper.”<b><b>

“Petunia, darling!” he said, standing up. The buttons on his gray vest strained against his bulk. He adjusted the navy blue jacket covering it as he strode over to greet his fiancée.<b><b>

“Vernon,” Petunia graciously acknowledged with a smile, giving him a tender kiss. Lily closed her eyes, internally cringing.<b><b>

“Shall we sit down?” Vernon said, gesturing to the tables.<b><b>

“Yes, lets,” Mr. Evans said, pulling out a chair for his wife. Vernon followed suit for Petunia. Lily pulled out her own chair.<b><b>

“You must be Lillian,” Vernon said once he was sitting down with his napkin on his lap. “Petunia has told me very much about you.”<b><b>

“Yes, I’ve heard quite a bit about you, too, Vernon,” Lily said, immediately disliking the man. _Try to be polite,_ she thought. _It’s hard, but for Petunia’s sake, try!_ <b><b>

Lily looked up to the sound of fingers snapping. “Waiter!” Vernon cried, snapping his fingers again. “Waiter, come here! We want to order!” A miffed looking man walked over, pulling out a pad of paper.<b><b>

“For you, Miss?” he said, looking at Lily.<b><b>

“Er,” Lily said, opening her menu. “I’ll have the House Salad, with red wine vinaigrette on the side,” she said, ordering the safest vegetarian option.<b><b>

Her parents opted for chicken parmesan, more safe options, while Vermin, _Vernon,_ Lily corrected in her mind, ordered a steak. When Petunia opened her mouth to order, Vernon interrupted. <b><b>

“Might I recommend something, dear?” he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he ordered for Petunia. “Veal, cooked medium rare, with roasted potatoes on the side. Hurry along, I’m a paying customer, I won’t be kept waiting!” The waiter hurried off, seeming pleased to be rid of the obnoxious man.<b><b>

“You can’t find good help nowadays, can you?” he said, sighing, as if the waiter had somehow offended him.<b><b>

“Right you are, Vernon,” Petunia said, helping herself to a slice of bread from the basket sitting on the table and smearing it with butter. Lily noticed Petunia’s indifference and couldn’t stop herself from speaking.<b><b>

“Petunia?” Lily said, gritting her teeth.<b><b>

“Yes?” she said, after swallowing some bread.<b><b>

“I thought you’d been a vegetarian since you were thirteen and a vegan since you were sixteen?”<b><b>

“Was I?” Petunia said, shooting Lily a warning look. Lily paid no attention.<b><b>

“And yet you’re eating butter and veal?”<b><b>

“I don’t believe she asked for your opinion,” Vernon cut in icily.<b><b>

“Lily, Vernon doesn’t approve of vegetarianism. It’s not healthy,” Petunia said in a monotonous tone, as though it had been rehearsed.<b><b>

_She acts differently around him,_ Lily realized. Petunia was changing herself to meet the requirements of the man that she thought she loved. <b><b>

“Exactly!” Vernon cried, spitting a bit of bread out as he spoke. Lily cringed. “And I’ll thank you for not interfering! Subject closed.”<b><b>

“Lily, shush,” Mrs. Evans said quietly, laying a hand on Lily’s arm. Lily crossed her thin arms over her chest, her vivid green eyes flashing as she glared at Vernon. The conversation progressed, and the food eventually came, but Lily wasn’t paying attention. She was seething inside, and making mental laments about Vernon Dursley.<b><b>

The conversation eventually moved on to jobs. After Vernon’s long monologue about his career (he worked at Grunnings, a company that manufactured drills) Mrs. Evans began asking about Petunia’s job.<b><b>

“Oh, it’s wonderful!” Petunia said, her blue eyes shining. Petunia was a social worker. “Ed Parker, you know, the assistant director? Well, he’s retiring, and I think I might be promoted into his spot!”<b><b>

“That’s great!” Lily exclaimed, being enthusiastic for the first time since she met her elder sister’s intended.<b><b>

Vernon seemed to squint his eyes, if doing that was at all possible for him. “Petunia, you know that I don’t approve of you working! The working force has been contaminated by women these days. Our society belongs in the hands of men.” Petunia sat there, looking shocked as she meekly took the scolding. “I expect you to hand in your resignation by the end of the week. Do I make myself clear?” he demanded.<b><b>

“Yes, Vernon,” Petunia said, casting her eyes downward.<b><b>

“That’s bullocks!” Lily burst out.<b><b>

“I beg your pardon?” Vernon said dangerously.<b><b>

“You heard me! Bullocks!”<b><b>

“That’s quite enough, Lily!” Mr. Evans said quietly. Lily sat back in her seat again. “Eat your food.” Lily belligerently shoved a forkful of salad into her mouth and chewed with her mouth open, all the while staring defiantly at the people at her table. Vernon made a show of wincing and wiping some of Lily's flying spittle from his face.<b><b>

When everyone had calmed down, the conversation progressed, and Vernon began talking about the wedding. “Marge is very excited about the wedding. She’s picked out a dress for you. Here’s a photo of it, what do you think?” A picture was passed around the table. When it reached Lily, she inhaled sharply in disgust.<b><b>

The dress was an awful pale peach color, with liberal amounts of lace on it. “This is revolting!” Lily said. Petunia and Vernon gasped, looking highly affronted. “It’s true! And who is Marge, anyway?” she demanded.<b><b>

Petunia opened her mouth to answer, but Vernon beat her to it. “Marge is my sister,” he said, puffing out his chest. “Petunia’s maid of honor. Surely you’ve heard of her?”<b><b>

Lily was sure her mouth dropped open. “Maid of-maid of honor?” she said in a broken voice. “Petunia, you told me that you weren’t having one!” Petunia was blushing furiously. “How _dare_ you!” Lily shouted in rage. “ _I’m_ supposed to be your maid of honour! I’m your sister! And you _lied_ to me, Petunia, you lied!” <b><b>

“Lily, you’re acting like a child!” Petunia exclaimed, the bright red of her face contrasting with her pale hair.<b><b>

“Robert, has this girl no manners?” Vernon said, wiping his piggish face. “I’d think at that school of her’s, they’d use some discipline! Where is it that she goes?”<b><b>

“Ah,” her father began, clearly thinking of some name, any name, off the top of his head.<b><b>

“Hogwarts,” Lily said in a broken voice, ignoring the warning glance that Petunia was shooting her. “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”<b><b>

“I beg your pardon?” Vernon asked looking at her oddly.<b><b>

“Oh, didn’t dear Petunia tell you? I’m a witch!” Lily said, her voice growing louder with every word. “You know, hocus pocus, abracadabra, wands, spells, the _whole,”_ she said, enunciating the word. “ _Bloody.”_ Her eyes were growing brighter. “ _Shebang!”_ With the last word, she flung her glass of water into Vernon’s lap. <b><b>

He looked at her in horror. “So _this_ is why you wouldn’t let me meet her, Petunia! She’s a lunatic! A bloody, raving lunatic!” <b><b>

“Vernon?” Petunia said shakily. “I-its true. Lily is a witch.” She looked up hesitantly, as if preparing herself for the blow. “I didn’t want to tell you because I was ashamed.”<b><b>

Lily stood up. “SHUT UP!” she roared. People were looking. _I don’t care,_ she fumed. _Let them look._ “I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR BIGOTED FIANCÉE! HE’S AN EGOTISTICAL, CHAUVINISTIC ASSHOLE, AND I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU BLOODY WELL TAKE IT! You know what you should do, Vermin-er, sorry- _Vernon?_ ” she spat, her voice dangerously low after the screaming. “TAKE YOUR PRICK AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR BLOODY ARSE!” Vernon looked shocked. “If you even _have_ one,” Lily said a bit more quietly. “A prick, that is, we can clearly see you have an arse, you have quite a few, by the looks of it!” <b><b>

“THAT’S IT!” Petunia shrieked. “YOU’RE OUT OF MY WEDDING! YOU’RE NOT EVEN _WELCOME_ THERE! YOU’D BETTER NOT STEP A SINGLE BLOODY FOOT NEAR ME ON MY WEDDING!” <b><b>

“Oh, I don’t want to be in your wedding!” Lily said, shaking her head in disbelief at her sister’s actions of the day. “I don’t want to be near you ever again!” Lily started running out of the restaurant. “FUCK YOU!” she screamed as loudly as she could over her shoulder as she left the restaurant, ignoring the scandalized whispers that followed her.<b><b>

Lily ran for a while, and then stopped, catching her breath. _Where can I go?_ She thought. She couldn’t go home; she didn’t want to see her sister, _not my sister,_ she corrected. _I deny all relation to that bitch_ , she thought. She couldn’t face her parents.<b><b>

A car drove next to her, slowing down. “Hey, babe!” a drunk-looking man said loudly through the open window. “You lost? Want a ride?” Some laughter could be heard from the back seat.<b><b>

“No, thank you,” Lily said, scraping together her dignity. The car sped off. The inhabitants of the car threw some bottles at Lily as they passed. “Prats,” she muttered as she began walking. Then she tripped over one of the glass beer bottles, and began to fall. She threw her left arm in front of her, so her face wouldn’t hit pavement. And then—<b><b>

A purple double-decker bus screeched to a stop in front of Lily. She jumped up, dusting off the front of her skirt. “Hello, welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Dan Shunpike and I’ll be your conductor for this evening.” The man standing in front of her appeared to be in his early thirties, with some acne scars remaining from adolescence.<b><b>

“Hi,” Lily said. “I’m Lily Evans. I’m a bit lost.”<b><b>

“Well, of course you are!” Dan said amiably. “Come on up, mind your head!” Lily followed him up onto the bus. “That’ll be ten Sickles,” he said, holding out a palm.<b><b>

“Er, I don’t have any money with me,” Lily said.<b><b>

“Very well then, you can pay us once you get to the other end,” Dan said, sounding bored. “Where to?”<b><b>

“Er, Lexington Manor, that’s in Rowenoake Downs, you know how to get there?” Lily said, thinking of Sophia’s house. _Mansion, more like_ , she thought.<b><b>

“Did you hear that, ‘Ern? Do we know how to get to Rowenoake Downs!” Dan said to the middle-aged man in the conductor’s seat, chuckling. “You just have a seat on one of these beds!” Lily sat on a hap hazardously placed iron bed, nearly falling off with every bump of the bus, which happened quite often.<b><b>

Lily watched as a toddler crawled up to Dan. “Meet Stan, my son,” he said proudly. “What was your name again?”<b><b>

“Lily,” she said, gasping as she righted herself on the bed.<b><b>

“Right. Stan, meet Lily. Lily, meet Stan!”<b><b>

“How old is he?” Lily asked politely.<b><b>

“Just turned seventeen months a bit over a week ago,” Dan answered. Lily tuned Dan out as he started on a long assessment of Stan’s dietary habits. (He won’t eat anything blue, that one!)<b><b>

Then, finally, “Lexington Manor, that’s in Rowenoake Downs,” a wheezy voice from the drivers seat said. Lily stood up.<b><b>

“Right then. We’ll wait here while you get those ten Sickles. Be sharpish, we’ve got other customers too you know!” Dan said.<b><b>

Lily shakily walked off the bus and up the walkway. She dropped the huge knocker that was in the shape of a burning cauldron (the main part of the Lexington family crest) and heard Mrs. Lexington’s voice shouting “Just a minute, be there in a minute, no, we _don’t_ want whatever you’re selling!” Lily had to smile. <b><b>

The door opened, and Lorelei Lexington’s thin frame was revealed. “Lily! What a delightful surprise!” she said. Indeed, Mrs. Lexington seemed delighted. “What brings you to our neck of the woods?”<b><b>

“A bit of a long story,” Lily said. “I’ll tell you in a few minutes. Could I stay here for a little while?”<b><b>

“Of course, come on in!” Mrs. Lexington said.<b><b>

“All right, could I borrow ten Sickles? I’ll pay you back, I just need to pay the Knight Bus.” Mrs. Lexington sighed sympathetically, and handed Lily the money. “Thanks!” Lily dashed off and handed Dan the money, (“Come again!”) then ran back to where Mrs. Lexington was standing.<b><b>

“Sorry about that!” Lily said, gasping for breath.<b><b>

“Quite all right,” Mrs. Lexington said. “I’m just glad you arrived today. Any sooner and we probably wouldn’t have been home.”<b><b>

“Right,” Lily said. “Well, is Sophia here?”<b><b>

“Why yes, of course she is!” Mrs. Lexington said. “SOPHIA! COME SEE WHO’S HERE!” Mrs. Lexington yelled up the stairs. Lily could hear thundering footsteps rushing down the mahogany stairs. “She sounds like an elephant, doesn’t she?” Mrs. Lexington sighed ruefully. A few seconds later, Sophia arrived.<b><b>

“Ohmigod! Lily!” Sophia shouted, flinging herself at Lily and hugging her.<b><b>

“Oof,” Lily grunted as the wind was knocked out of her.<b><b>

“So, Lily was going to tell us about what happened,” Mrs. Lexington said lightly. “Why don’t we go into the lounge?” Lily and Sophia dutifully followed her into the said room. Mrs. Lexington and Sophia sat on the loveseat, while Lily sank into the low armchair.<b><b>

“I met Petunia’s fiancée,” Lily said, and then launched into her story.<b><b>

As Lily told them about the night’s events, she took the opportunity to study their appearances. Mrs. Lexington was very tall—almost six feet tall, but instead of looking like a large woman, she was willowy. Her waist-length hair was a deep, blue-black, her large eyes a pale yellow. Lorelei Lexington was an elf, and she told her story of how she entered the Wizarding world often.<b><b>

****<b><b>

_I was born into the Elvin Tribe of Valor. My Father was Leon, the leader of our tribe. When I was fourteen, I was betrothed to Leopold, the Prince of an Elvin kingdom that was far from the woods where I grew up. We were to be married when I was nineteen- the custom marriage age for elves. It was on the eve of my wedding when I met Hunter. I remember that night so clearly. I was wearing a dress spun from unicorn hair, and a crown made of rare flowers. As tradition dictated, I kept vigil that night on the lake. As night fell, my raft was pushed into the middle of the lake. When the sun rose in the morning, the vines tying it to shore would be pulled by Leopold, and I would be drawn in to shore. That night, at midnight, a man came in a small canoe. Hunter believed the legend of an Elvin bride: spy one keeping vigil on her wedding eve, and a wish will be granted. I don’t know about any wishes, but as soon as we saw each other, it was love at first sight. I crept into his boat, and I ran away with him. We eloped, and we’re still happily married, almost seventeen years later._ <b><b>

****<b><b>

Lily didn’t know how much of Mrs. Lexington’s tale was true, but it was the kind of thing that she had read about in Muggle fairy tales as a child-the princess is going to marry the prince, she doesn’t love him, meets the other guy, falls in love, lives happily ever after. The End. Another story with the happy ending occurring after the wedding. It occurred to Lily that marriage didn’t always constitute a happy ending; if ever there was a marriage doomed to fail, it was Petunia and Vernon’s.<b><b>

Sophia looked almost exactly like her mother, except for her eyes. Sophia’s were violet. It was something having to do with mixing human and Elvin genes, although Lily didn’t know much about the subject. True to her word from the letter, Sophia had a killer tan. She looked great.<b><b>

Eventually, Lily finished her story. Some of it had Mrs. Lexington and Sophia in tears of laughter, some of it had them pursing their lips and shaking their heads.<b><b>

“Well, Lily. Am I right in saying that you don’t really want to go back there?” Lily nodded. “Well, that’s settled,” she said, clapping her hands. “Come along, Lily.”<b><b>

“Where am I going?” Lily asked.<b><b>

“To your house. I’m going to inform your parents that you’re staying here for the rest of the summer, and you can pack up your stuff.”<b><b>

“YES!” Sophia shrieked. “This is awesome!”<b><b>

“Thank you,” Lily said. “But how are we getting to my house? You don’t have a car, we’re not hooked up to the Floo Network, and it’d be illegal to make a Portkey.”<b><b>

“Oh,” Mrs. Lexington said, looking crestfallen. Then, she visibly brightened. “We’ll have to do Side-Along Apparition!” Sophia winced. “Oh, shut up, you!” Mrs. Lexington said, waving her hand at her daughter. “Grab hold of my arm, Lily, and _don’t let go!_ ” A second later, Lily felt as if she was being squeezed rather tightly. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in her living room at home.<b><b>

“Right,” Lily said. “I’m having second thoughts about getting my Apparation license.”<b><b>

“Oh, it’s not so bad once you get used to it!” Mrs. Lexington said brightly. “Why don’t we find your parents, and then I’ll help you pack.” Lily led Mrs. Lexington to the dining room, where they found Mr. and Mrs. Evans comforting a sobbing Petunia.<b><b>

Suddenly, Petunia saw Lily. “ _You!_ ” she said, pointing at Lily through her sobs. “I hope you’re happy! Vernon said that he’d have to _reconsider the wedding!_ It’s your entire fault, you-you _freak!”_ Lily stepped back, looking shocked. She had expected Petunia to be angry, but she had never before called Lily a freak. Mrs. Lexington stepped forward into the room. <b><b>

“Hello,” she said. “I am Lorelei Lexington, I’m sure you have heard of my daughter, Sophia.” Lily’s family seemed to be shrinking back from the rather imposing woman’s presence.<b><b>

Mr. Evans, at least, seemed to remember his manners. “I’m Robert Evans,” he said, standing up and offering his hand. Mrs. Lexington took it grudgingly. “This is my wife, Violet, and my other daughter, Petunia.”<b><b>

“So I assumed,” Mrs. Lexington said shortly. “Lily arrived at my home about half an hour ago, and told me of this evening’s events. I have thought about what has happened, and I decided that it is best if Lily spends the remainder of the summer in Rowenoake Downs. If that’s all right with _you_ , of course,” she said hastily.<b><b>

“Mum, please!” Petunia sobbed. “I couldn’t _stand_ being with her for the rest of the summer!” <b><b>

Mr. and Mrs. Evans seemed to undergo a silent conversation.<b><b>

“Very well,” Mrs. Evans said. “Lily, you may stay with the Lexington’s for the rest of the summer holidays. You might want to go up and pack.”<b><b>

“Lily will return before we leave to say goodbye,” Mrs. Lexington said. Lily led her up to her room. “Get out your trunk,” she said. Lily did so. Mrs. Lexington did some complicated movements with her wand, and all of her belongings sorted themselves neatly into the trunk. “I’ll take this home while you say goodbye to your parents,” she said comfortingly, then with a small _pop_ disappeared. <b><b>

Lily trudged downstairs. “Mum? Dad?” she said softly. Her parents looked up. “I’m sorry for acting so rudely towards Vernon.”<b><b>

Her father waved a hand in dismissal. “I think he’s a right prat too, but you need to remember that he’s going to be family. Come here, give me a hug.” Lily gave him a tight hug, then released him and turned to her mother.<b><b>

“We love you, but I think it _would_ be best if you and Petunia spent some time apart,” Mrs. Evans said quietly. “We’ll call Diego’s and tell them you won’t be returning this summer.” Lily gave her hug. <b><b>

“Bye,” she said. “I love you.”<b><b>

“Goodbye, darling,” her parents said.<b><b>

“Be sure to borrow Sophia’s owl to write to us,” Mrs. Evans added. “She doesn’t want you to right now, but I’m sure she’ll change her mind about you being allowed at her wedding.”<b><b>

“I’m not sure I even want to go now,” Lily said quietly.<b><b>

“I know,” Mrs. Evans said comfortingly, “But when it’s all said and done, you’ll be sorry to have missed Petunia’s wedding.” Lily nodded.<b><b>

“Lily?” Mrs. Lexington said, appearing behind her. “Are you ready to go?”<b><b>

“Yeah,” Lily said. “Bye, Mum, Dad.” She took Lorelei’s arm, and they disappeared.<b><b>

****<b><b>

A week later, Lily sent Sophia’s owl, Sephion, to her parents. They replied requesting that she attend Petunia’s wedding; she had agreed to let Lily come, but not as a bridesmaid.<b><b>

****<b><b>

Mrs. Lexington dropped Lily off at her own house on the day of the wedding. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at ten,” she said. “Don’t let that prat get to you.” Mrs. Lexington and Sophia had taken to calling Vernon the Prat. Lily had taken to calling him Vermin.<b><b>

“Bye,” Lily said and stepped into the house. “Mum, I’m home,” she called. Mrs. Evans appeared from the kitchen. Lily hugged her mother. “I missed you,” she whispered.<b><b>

“I missed you too,” Mrs. Evans said.<b><b>

“Where’s Petunia? I wanted to apologize,” Lily said.<b><b>

“In her room,” Mrs. Evans said. Lily quietly walked up her elder sister’s room and knocked.<b><b>

“Come in,” said the muffled voice. Lily opened the door.<b><b>

Petunia sat cross-legged on the bed, flipping through a photo album that Lily knew to contain pictures of Lily and Petunia as small children.<b><b>

“Petunia,” Lily said. Petunia didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t look at Lily. She just stared at the photo album. Lily sighed. “I’m sorry. I was such a bitch. You did all that for me on my birthday and when I was drunk, and that was how I repaid you? I’m sorry. You have your reasons for changing your beliefs, and I shouldn’t question them. You never question mine.”<b><b>

Petunia still said nothing, though Lily knew that she was listening; she was no longer flipping through. A pale, shaking hand held the corner of a page.<b><b>

“Petunia,” Lily said.<b><b>

Petunia looked at Lily, tears running down her face. Lily stared at her, shocked. Petunia’s face was pale, gaunt, and haunted. _Has she eaten since I last saw her?_ Lily could feel her own eyes start to water as well, and then she stepped forward and hugged Petunia tightly, wincing at how small Petunia felt, at how sharp her bones were. <b><b>

“I’m sorry as well,” Petunia sobbed. “I should have made you my maid of honour!”<b><b>

“I don’t _care_ about that, Petunia!” Lily exclaimed. “I just wish you had told me that this Marge was going to be your maid of honour, it was a shock, that’s all.” Lily broke away from the embrace. “Oh, Petunia! I just want it to be like it was before!” <b><b>

“Lily, I don’t think it ever _will_ be like it was before. I’d like it to be as much as you do, but somehow I just can’t believe that it can go back to normal.” And as always, Lily knew that Petunia was right.<b><b>

Lily saw Vernon right before the wedding. She didn’t want to, but she knew she had to for Petunia’s sake. She braced herself, and then walked up to Vernon.<b><b>

“Vernon?” she said from behind him. He turned around.<b><b>

“Oh. Lillian,” he said distastefully.<b><b>

“Could I talk to you, please? Alone?” she added, noticing the people looking at them interestedly.<b><b>

Lily led Vernon to the opposite end of the room. “Listen, I’m really sorry about the restaurant. I was being horrible and immature. You and Petunia didn’t deserve any of the things that I said, and now that I actually think about what I said, none of its true and I didn’t mean it.” Lily thought privately that she _did_ mean what she said. She kept that thought to herself. <b><b>

Vernon raised his eyebrows. “All right, all right,” Lily sighed. “I might have been a bit hung-over too.” He gazed at her, unimpressed.<b><b>

“I know that we won’t be best friends, but let’s try to get along, all right? For Petunia’s sake.”<b><b>

“Fine,” Vernon said shortly. “Is that all?”<b><b>

“Yes.”<b><b>

“Good.” Vernon turned back to the other guests and began speaking to them with a much look on his face that suggested that someone had shoved something rather unpleasant under his nose. Lily glared at him behind his back, when she was sure that no one was looking.<b><b>

The wedding was nice, as far as weddings went. Marge Dursley, Vernon’s sister and the maid of honour, was a large woman who drank a lot of champagne at the reception. The best man wasn’t much more attractive then Marge. They made a good match. The only bridesmaid was Nora, one of Petunia’s friends from school.<b><b>

Lily drank a bit of champagne, but took care to not get drunk. She spent the reception with Jack, one of her cousins that was a year younger than her. They weren’t especially close, but they got on well.<b><b>

The next day thankfully came when she could go back to Sophia’s house. Lily recounted the story of the wedding in five minutes; there wasn’t much to tell.<b><b>

****<b><b>

“Ready to go?” Sophia said. It was two weeks later, August 31, and Lily and Sophia were about to go to Diagon Alley to meet Michelle and to get their school supplies.<b><b>

“Yep,” Lily said cheerfully. “Race you downstairs!” Sophia immediately took off running and began thundering down the stairs. Lily smiled and ran after her, but instead of running downstairs, she sat on the railing and slid down instead. She beat Sophia by about a second. “Beat you!” Sophia stuck out her tongue.<b><b>

Mrs. Lexington was waiting by the fireplace. “Now don’t forget, get me another bag of Floo Powder!” she said.<b><b>


	2. Of Prefects, Trains, and Feasts

_‘Follow me.’ The voice was soft. Trembling. Lily could see a world of faint colors and sharp lines around her. ‘Follow me.’ She turned her head. A figure stood in front of her, cloaked in darkness. ‘Help me!’ it cried. ‘I can’t get out!’_

_But she couldn’t—she couldn’t move. ‘I can’t help you!’ Lily shouted, noiseless. ‘I can’t move!’_

_‘That’s what everyone thinks,’ the voice said sadly, a pair of bottomless eyes suddenly in her focus. ‘They can’t move beyond. They need help.’_

_‘Where are you taking me?’ she said, aware that her legs were moving against her will. ‘Let me go!’_

_‘The other side,’ the voice whispered, fading away. ‘Cross the divide and you will see.’ And it left, leaving Lily only with faint whispers begging for help, or maybe it was just the wind._

“Lily,” a new voice said. “Lily, it’s time to get up.” 

Lily groaned, rolling over to block out the voice.

“Come on,” it said, laughing. “Up you get!”

“Five more minutes,” she mumbled wearily.

“That’s what you said five minutes ago. _Up!”_ And with that, Lily found herself without a blanket. 

Lily sat up, shrieking. “Give those back!” she shouted.

“No. It’s nearly nine thirty, and we have a Tappy coming at ten,” Mrs. Lexington said.

“A tappy?” Lily asked, confused.

“Yes, one of those things Muggles use to get places.

“Tappy…” Lily murmured, thinking. “Oh! A Taxi!”

“Yes, that’s the one!” Mrs. Lexington said cheerfully. “The clothes you set out are on the desk; your trunk’s already downstairs. Get dressed and come down for a quick breakfast.” And with that, she left.

Lily rolled her eyes, smiling. _Just like her to get such a…_ Muggle _way of travel,_ she thought. _Better get ready, though. I don’t have much time._ She dressed in the faded jeans and white tank top that she had set on the desk, slipped on a pair of sandals, and darted downstairs.

“Good morning,” she said cheerfully.

“Well, look who finally decided to climb out of the grave!” Michelle exclaimed.

“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Lily said, snatching up a bagel from the plate on the counter and shoving it into her mouth. 

“Now, we only have a few minutes,” Mrs. Lexington said as Lily chewed her breakfast. “I’ve charmed your trunks to be lighter, so you won’t have any trouble carrying them around. 

“What about the owls?” Sophia said thickly through a mouthful of oatmeal. “Won’t the tappy man wonder?”

“ _Taxi,_ ” Lily said, rolling her eyes. 

“Whatever,” Sophia said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’ll get me to King’s Cross eitherway.”

“Muggles keep all sorts of strange pets. This won’t be any different,” Mrs. Lexington explained. Lily suppressed a laugh.

She chewed in silence for a few minutes, memorizing the room one last time before she left for Hogwarts. 

The taxi ride, though a bit confusing at first, worked out fairly well. The driver was rather bemused to see three owls in his taxi, but he was fairly accepting once Lily gave him his pay, accompanied by a substantial tip.  They arrived at King’s Cross with eighteen minutes to spare.

“Write every week,” Mrs. Lexington said, hugging her daughter goodbye.

“I will, Mum,” Sophia said, rolling her eyes.

“You want me to write too, Mrs. Lexington?” Lily grinned.

“Yes, that would be nice.”

“All right, I’ll write you sometimes.”

“Good. And if you don’t want to return home for Christmas, you’re always welcome with us,” she said.

“Thanks,” Lily said, giving her surrogate mother one last hug. 

“Have fun, and good luck!” she called over her shoulder, leaving Lily, Michelle, and Sophia standing by the barrier. 

“Yes, fun,” Sophia grumbled. “Absolute bullocks, not with O.W.L.s breathing on our necks.”

Lily laughed. “Come on. We should board the train now.”

“And here’s to another year,” Sophia said, picking up her trunk and disappearing into the barrier. 

“Here goes,” Lily said, preparing to follow. “You coming?” she said, turning to Michelle, who was facing the other way.

“Oh. Yeah,” Michelle said, brought back to attention.

“Okay, well I’ll see you. I have to go in the Prefect’s compartment. Here goes nothing,” she said, closing her eyes and sliding through the brick wall dividing Platforms 9 and 10.

Platform 9 ¾ was its usual bustle of color and noise. Older students were talking and laughing, greeting old friends, and first years were looking upon the hubbub with apprehension and no small amount of fear, being hugged goodbye by their tearful parents. 

 Lily smiled; the familiarity was reassuring, and Hogwarts was where she felt most at home, and made her way onto the train. The train was noisy and very full, but Lily managed to push through to the front of the train. 

The fifth year prefect compartment was directly across from the Head compartment, and in front of the sixth year prefect compartment. The seventh year compartment occupied the space behind the Head’s compartment. 

The compartment was about half full. It appeared that the Slytherin and Hufflepuff prefects had not yet arrived; however, the Ravenclaw prefects and Remus Lupin were already there. 

“Hey!” Lily said, sinking into the seat beside Remus.

“Lily!” he cried, looking up from his copy of the Daily Prophet. “It’s great to see you again,” he said, giving her a quick hug.

“Likewise, she said, shifting into a more comfortable position. A cough made her look up; the two Ravenclaw prefects were staring at her expectantly. She didn’t know the name of either.

“I’m Lily Evans,” she said, hoping for them to give their names.

“Brenna Kibble,” the girl said, smiling slightly.

“Conrad Bellamy,” the boy said, nodding.“I’m Remus Lupin,” Remus said, taking his cue. “It’s nice to meet both of you.”

Conrad had neat, light brown hair parted evenly in the middle, and chocolate brown eyes. 

Brenna, though not traditional looking, was attractive in her own right. She had blue-black hair almost reaching her shoulders, and ice-blue, almond shaped eyes. Her lips were naturally curved in an amused smile that seemed to reach her eyes.

“Do you by any chance have a brother?” Remus said, studying Conrad closely.

“Yeah,” he said, grinning. “Palmer. We’re twins. He looks a lot like me.” “So its not you that looks like him?” Lily said, smiling.

“Nah, I’m three minutes older.”

Suddenly the door slid open, and the Slytherin prefects entered. Alanna Darcy and Adonis Iven were among the more popular of the Slytherin.  Alanna had slate-gray eyes and white-blonde hair that had the appearance of being brushed for hours on end. Adonis had an overly confident air about him, with dark hair and eyes and wealthy parents. 

Adonis opened his mouth to say something, most likely insulting either Lily or Remus, but before he could, the door slid open and a Hufflepuff girl called Ida Hitchens entered.

“Hi,” she said, smiling cheerfully. “Kean should be here soon, I saw him just a minute ago.” Kean Lovell was a fifth-year Hufflepuff, who Lily presumed was Hufflepuff’s other prefect. Sure enough, less than a minute later, he walked in and slid into the seat between Lily and Ida. 

“Hello,” he said to Lily and Remus before turning his attention to Ida, who leaned up against him. _They must have started dating over the summer,_ Lily thought. 

After that, the compartment fell fairly silent; none of them knew one another very well. Fortunately, it was only five minutes before the head students entered. Lily’s heart seemed to drop out of her chest.

“Okay, I’m Darren Brians,” the boy Lily had been fantasizing about all summer said. “I’m the new Head Boy.”

“Isn’t your first name Darius or something?” Adonis asked coldly.

“Well, yes, but everyone calls me Darren,” he answered coolly.

“And I’m Roberta Conner, and I’m the Head Girl,” his female counterpart said. “But call me Robbie.” Robbie was a tiny girl, with her short dark hair in a pixie cut. 

“Right. So, welcome to another year at Hogwarts,” Robbie said. “This year will be your hardest yet, and as Prefects, you’ll be expected to keep up and even excel. You’ll be spending a lot of time with each other this year, so I suggest you learn each other’s names.”

“And we’d prefer it if you’d call each other by your first names,” Darren said, his gaze shifting from Lily and Remus to Adonis and Alanna. “You start.”

Lily swallowed. “I’m Lily Evans.”

“I’m Remus Lupin,” Remus said. “The other Gryffindor prefect.”

“Conrad Bellamy, Ravenclaw.” “Brenna Kibble, also Ravenclaw,” Brenna said.

“Alanna Darcy.”

“Adonis Iven,” he said, just as coldly as Alanna had.

“I am Ida Hitchens,” Ida said, briefly breaking away from Kean’s hold. 

“And I’m Kean Lovell.” The two quickly leaned back against each other.

Robbie grinned. “We’re not going to have an official meeting yet. That won’t happen until tomorrow, when all of the prefects meet. Today we just want to go over what you’ll have to do this year, and answer questions. Do you want to start, Darren?”

“So first off, patrols,” Darren said. “Curfew for first, second, and third years is at nine. Fourth years are nine-thirty, fifth and sixth years at ten, and seventh years at ten-thirty. Curfew on weekends is extended by half an hour. 

“Patrols will rotate, but you’ll still have to do patrols every night, for the most part. There are four shifts, so there will be two pairs patrolling at a time, and you’ll patrol half an hour every night. Robbie and I patrol for about an hour. This will be done in pairs, and your partner will be the other prefect from your house and year. If a student is caught out of bed after curfew, you have the right to take points or give detention.”

“Which brings us to our next point: punishment,” Robbie said. “Prefects have the right to punish students for things like ‘fraternization’, magic in the hallway, breaking curfew, having things that are banned, cutting class, and general misbehavior. Obviously, we’ll have to keep a record of this. Write down the name of the student, what they did, and the punishment given, since McGonagall needs to know about any and all punishments given. The same rule applies for giving points. You can’t do any of this based on how much you like the person.”

“Some of the prefect duties aren’t as bad, though. You’ll plan Hogsmeade visits; approve new clubs and organizations; and plan dances, balls, and other activities. We’re not going to get into that right now, though—we’ll have our first official Prefect meeting tomorrow. I _think_ that’s it,” she said, her monologue winding down. “Unless I’m forgetting something…”

“Passwords,” Darren said. “As prefects, you’re responsible for passwords. Please decide a password with the other Prefect from your house, write them down, and give them to me.”

“What should the password be?” Remus said, turning to Lily.

“How about…” she trailed off, thinking. “ _Ignigena praepes,_ maybe?”

“Latin, right?” Remus said. Lily nodded. “What does it mean?”

“I’m no good at Latin grammar, but I know the meanings of the separate words. ‘ _Ignigena’_ means ‘Born of fire’ and _‘praepes’_ means a bird of good omen.”

“So essentially a phoenix?” Remus asked.

“Yes. But I think the word for phoenix in Latin actually _is_ phoenix.”

“All right, everyone have their passwords?” Robbie said. They all nodded. “Great. That’s really it for right now. Darren and I have to meet with the other prefects, while you get to do your first patrols. All you need to do is check that everyone’s found a compartment, no compartments are too full, no ones doing anything—you know what I mean—and no one is getting drunk or high.”

“Remus and Lily, take the back quarter of the train. Ida and Kean, next quarter, Alanna and Adonis, next quarter, and Conrad and Brenna, this quarter. You can go find your friends when you’re done. See you tomorrow!” and the two of them left.

“So I guess we’d better get started. James and Sirius wanted me to get back to the compartment as quickly as possible,” Remus said, standing up.

“Right. And if the Great James and Sirius want something—” Lily said, following him out of the compartment.

“Lily,” Remus said. “I know you hate them, but they’re my friends.””Okay, okay,” Lily sighed. “I’m sorry, Remus.”

“Apology accepted,” he said, grinning. “Now how about we do the patrols?” 

They didn’t find anything wrong in the section of the train that they were required to patrol. Lily saw a group of seventh years that she suspected to be drunk, but as it appeared that the drinking had been done before they boarded the train, there was nothing she could do about it.

But then—“Oy! You there!” Lily yelled, striding up to a pair of Slytherins and a first year girl. The Slytherins turned around. 

“Malfoy. Nott,” she said, coolly nodding to the fifth year boys. 

“Evans,” Malfoy spat with contempt. “Got the badge, I see?”

“Yes,” she said evenly.

“Pity,” he said. “Such a shame that they’re putting Mudbloods in positions of authority. If only there were a competent Headmaster—“

“Shut it!” Lily said heatedly. “I’ll be telling Professor McGonagall about this, so don’t be surprised when you lose some points.”

“Lily,” Remus said, laying a hand on her arm. “It’s fine. Let Darcy and Iven deal with it. They’re supposed to patrol this area.”

“Like they’re really going to do anything about this!” she retorted. 

“Listen to Lupin, Evans,” Malfoy drawled. “He’s not a Mudblood, he knows what he’s talking about.”

“Ten points from you!” she yelled. “And it’ll be more later.”

“Lily, come _on!”_ Remus said, gently pulling her away. Malfoy and Nott laughed. “And you, come with us,” he said more kindly, nodding to the girl standing there watching them with wide eyes. She obliged, following Remus and Lily away from Malfoy.

“What’s your name?” Lily said kindly. 

“Melissa Prewett,” she said, nervously tugging on her bright red hair.  

“Oh!” Lily said, comprehension dawning. “Are you related to a Molly Prewett?”

“She’s my older sister,” Melissa said, a bit more confidently. “You know her?”

“She was in her seventh year when I was in first year,” Lily said. “Why don’t we find you a compartment? Here,” she said, seeing a compartment that looked to be full of first years.”Thanks,” Melissa said.

“No problem. See you at the Sorting. And if you ever need anything, just find me. My name is Lily Evans.”

“All right, I will,” Melissa said, nodding. “See you.”

“I guess I’ll see you at the Sorting too, then,” Remus said. “I think I saw Sophia and Michelle in the third section, I guess you’ll want to join them.”

“Yeah,” Lily said, a dry lump suddenly in her throat. “Yeah.” 

Lily found the compartment that Remus had mentioned. “Hey,” she said, sitting down next to Michelle. 

“Hey,” she said. “How was the Prefect meeting?”

“Oh, it was all right,” Lily yawned, helping herself to one of the Chocolate Frogs in the seat across from her, next to Sophia’s sleeping form. 

“The other Gryffindor prefect is Remus, of course,” she said thickly. “And Conrad Bellamy and Brenna Kibble are the Ravenclaw prefects. “Ida Hitchens and Kean Lovell are Hufflepuff’s, and—get this—Slytherin’s are Alanna Darcy and Adonis Iven.”

“Well, it’s not like there were any other good options,” Michelle said fairly. “Either way it’ll be someone you don’t like. If it weren’t Iven, it’d be Malfoy, or Nott, or Snape, or Goyle. And if it weren’t Darcy, it could have been Black or someone just as bad!”

“True,” Lily said. They sat in silence for a few moments, swallowing sweets. 

“I’ve heard that for Slytherin, they normally choose the names out of a hat,” a soft voice said. 

Lily turned; sitting in a seat by the door was a girl with long, dark hair, and blue-gray eyes that Lily recognized as a Gryffindor from her own year. Her last name was Gabriel, and Lily was shocked to find that she didn’t know her first name.

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Lily said. “I’m really embarrassed to be asking you this, but what’s your name? Lauren Gabriel, right?”

“Close,” she said, smiling a slight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s Larine. The pronunciation is similar, though.”

“Thanks,” Lily said. “I’m Lily.” 

“I know,” Larine said, putting an end to all conversation and causing an awkward silence to boot.

And then the compartment door slid open. Michelle sat up a bit straighter. “Hello, Remus,” she said quickly.

“Hi,” he said, nodding briefly. Then he turned to Lily. “Just to warn you, James and Sirius are making their way down here. 

“Great,” she said rolling her eyes. “Is there any way to keep them out?”

“Evans, of course there isn’t! You must not know us well enough,” a slow drawl said. Lily looked up.

“You’ve certainly lost some weight, Black,” Lily said, looking Sirius up and down. Up until that year, Sirius had been on the heavier side. “And I see you’ve gained some weight, Potter,” she said to James, who had previously been even shorter than she and at least ten pounds lighter. 

“See you haven’t,” he said, without missing a beat.

Sirius laughed. “Nice one, James!” 

”What…” Lily murmured. James and Sirius laughed even harder. And then Lily saw that he was looking at her chest.

“Oh, shut up, Potter!” she said heatedly. 

“But yes, I have lost some weight,” Sirius said conversationally. “And its making me an even bigger hit with the ladies…”

“Bigger hit, my arse!” James scoffed. “I’ve been loads further than you!”

“Well, yes, if being farther than me means wanking more,” Sirius said. “But you’ll find that when most people say they’ve been further, it means with an actual person.”

“Yeah? And like you’ve even had a girlfriend, let alone _done_ anything.”

“I’ll have you know that I have!” Sirius said.

“Oh, come _on,_ Black! By someone else, they mean an actual _person!_ Your next-door neighbor’s cat doesn’t count!”

They must have noted Lily’s look of disgust.

“We’re _joking,_ Evans!” James said scathingly. “Though I wouldn’t expect you to know what a joke is.”

_Bloody pricks,_ she thought furiously. When they turned back to each other, bickering, she pulled out her wand and muttered a Severing Charm.

“How’s _that_ for a joke!” she shouted as they backed up.

“What in Merlin’s name are you talking about, Evans?” Sirius said incredulously.

“Mate, I think she’s talking about your hair,” Remus said, an amused smile his face.

“My—my hair!” he wailed, bringing his hands up to his now short, choppy hair. James slowly drew his hands up to his own hair, looking shocked as he felt its shortness. 

“Evans, you—you—“

“Wouldn’t want to get yourself in detention now, would you, Potter?” Lily said nastily. “You might want to go get changed. “We’ll be arriving soon.”

The three stepped out of the compartment, surrounded by curses and Remus’ reassuring whispers of “its okay, I know a hair-lengthening charm.”

“Finally! We’re here! For the whole train ride, I was cramped and hungry,” Sophia complained.

“Fee, you were asleep the whole time,” Lily reminded her.

“So? I’m hungry!”

“Do you _ever_ think of anything except food?” Michelle asked jokingly.

“Of course!” Sophia said, pretending to be offended. “I also think about… well…okay, I only think about food!” she joked. “But is that really such a bad thing?”

“I suppose not,” Michelle sighed. 

“By the way, Fee,” Lily said as an afterthought. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Er, no?”

“The Sorting,” Lily reminded her.

“Oh, right!” Sophia said, looking crestfallen. 

“Its okay,” Lily said comfortingly. “It won’t take too long.”

“Won’t take too long, my arse,” Sophia mumbled.

 “Finally!” Sophia groaned as Korbella Zormuck was sorted into Ravenclaw. 

“I would like to make a few announcements,” Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, said as Professor McGonagall made her way to the seat to the right of his.

Sophia looked crestfallen. “However,” he said, raising a hand to stave off the cries of protest. “They are not so important that they cannot be delayed. Staff and students, old and new, I welcome you to another year at Hogwarts. And now, _eat!”_ With the last word, he raised both hands, and the tables filled with food. Dumbledore sat back down smiling, amid the chatter and laughter. 

“Finally! We can eat!” Sophia yelled, brandishing a polished fork. “I’ve been starving the whole train ride!”

“Like I said, you were _asleep_ the whole time,” Lily admonished her.

“Details,” she said noncommittally, waving the now potato-laden fork. Lily winced as small bits of food hit her. 

“Fee, could you be a little more careful?” Lily sighed, wiping mashed potatoes from above her left eye. 

“Sorry,” she apologized through a mouthful of bread and butter.

“I don’t know how you can _eat_ so much food and not gain weight!” Michelle lamented. “ _I_ just have to _look_ at a chocolate frog to gain three pounds!”

“Michelle, don’t be ridiculous,” Lily said, spooning thick tomato soup into her bowl. “For one, even though I know you’re just using an expression, it takes 3000 calories to gain a pound. And your weight shouldn’t even be an issue.”

“Like hell it shouldn’t,” she grumbled.

“You’re plenty thin,” Lily said calmly. “Right, Fee?”

Sophia nodded, her attention not bestowed upon her friends. It was instead fixated at the Hufflepuff table.

“Wha—oh,” Lily said, smiling as she saw the silent flirtations between Sophia and Jonah Snoughel, who was staring back at Sophia, clearly as interested as she was.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Lily said, turning back to Michelle. “You have nothing to worry about, as far as weight goes. You’re really very thin.”

“Not compared to _you_ two,” she said sullenly. “I must weigh what? Twenty, thirty more pounds than you?”

“Probably not that much,” Lily said fairly. “And anyway, you’re what? Five, six inches taller than me?”

“Still,” Michelle said lamely.”Michelle, you’re not fat. Case closed.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” a new voice said. 

“Black, go _away!_ ” Lily groaned. 

“What?” he said. “I’m just participating in a friendly conversation among friends.”

“You’re not our friend,” Lily said. “Where were we?”

“You were saying how Matthews has nothing to worry about weight-wise, and that she was plenty thin, and I was disagreeing,” Sirius said.

“See? _Black_ agrees with me!” Michelle said.

“With good reason!” he said, nodding vigorously. ”You’ve no right to say that!” Lily said indignantly.

“Like hell I don’t. Oi! James!” he called over to his friend. James looked up over his glasses, smiled, and strutted over to them. 

“You called?” he said.

“Yeah. We need a second opinion,” he said. “I think Matthews here is a fat cow. Evans thinks otherwise. We need a tiebreaker. What do you think?”

“Hmm,” James said, regarding Michelle with an indifferent eye. “I’d say fat cow is going a bit overboard.”

“Cut the crap, Potter!” Sirius said, exasperated. “Who’s side are you on, mine or Evans?”

“However,” James said as if there had been no interruption whatsoever. “Matthews _is_ a bit on the pudgy side. So yours, I guess.”

“Why, you foul git!” Lily cried. “For one, we’re sitting right here, and for two, that’s not even remotely true!”

“Piss off, Evans,” James said disinterestedly. “No one cares what you thinks.”

“Hey, Potter,” Sirius said, nudging James and jerking his head towards Hillary Welsh, a pretty, popular Gryffindor girl in their year.

“Hillary!” James said in a deep, mature voice. 

“Oh, sod off— _Potter?”_ she said incredulously. “James Potter, is that you?”

“The one and only,” he said, a smirk coming over his face.

“I can’t believe it!” she squealed. “Romeya, come over here!” she said, pulling her best friend over. Romeya Vane was another Gryffindor, and she and Hillary were among the more sought-after girls in the school. “Romeya, it’s James! James Potter!”

“Oh my god!” she said in the same squeal as Hillary. “Wow, James, you look different!”

“Yeah, thanks,” he said.

“And I _love_ your hair,” she said, running a hand through his messy, and now choppy, locks.

“Thanks,” he said, his smile broadening. “Yeah, I like it a lot too.” Lily watched the spectacle, fuming. _An hour ago, that was a prank that he was on the receiving end of!_ she thought, reddening. _And now he has the nerve to talk about it like its his doing!_

“Forgetting someone?” Sirius said, sidling up to Romeya. 

“Sirius!” she cooed. “Its been _too_ long!”

“Yeah. Notice anything different?” he said, doing a mock twirl.

“You look great!” she gushed. “Absolutely spectacular.”

“We’d better go,” Hillary said, reluctantly, looking over at their group of friends. “We’ll see you later, okay?”

“Definitely,” Romeya added.

“We’ll have to hang out sometime,” Sirius winked.

“Want to sit with us at breakfast tomorrow?” James asked, running a hand through his hair. 

“Yes,” they said in unison.

”Excellent. See you later, then?” he said, waving as they began to walk off.

“ _Fuck,_ yes!” James yelled when they were out of earshot, jumping up to high-five Sirius. “That was brilliant!”

“Damn straight!” Sirius said, looking pleased with himself. “Hey, dibs on Romeya.”

“That’s fine,” James said. “They’re both pretty hot.”

“Jamie, I think we can wave goodbye to our virginity pretty soon,” Sirius said happily.

“I give it two weeks,” James said.

“That’s _you_ ,” Sirius scoffed. “I bet _I_ can get it in one!” 

“Is that a bet?” James said, perking up. 

“Name your terms.”

“Ten galleons. If you get it in a week or less, I pay. It takes you more, you pay.”

“Same for you?” Sirius said.

“Deal,” James said. “Shake on it,” he said, reaching for Sirius’s hand.

“Why, James, I didn’t know you felt that way!” Sirius said, lifting a hand to his heart.

“Fuck you,” James chuckled.

“Nah, I’ll leave that to Vane! Be prepared to pay, Potter!” he said.

“ENOUGH!” Lily exploded. James and Sirius started; they had forgotten who they were with. “Both of you!” she shouted. “You make me _sick!_ Get the bloody hell away!”

“The great Evans curses?” James said in mock horror. 

“NOW!” she screamed. The two boys exchanged a condescending smile, and walked off to rejoin Remus, who was sitting with a boy in their year called Peter Pettigrew who normally tagged along with a few of the Hufflepuffs.

“So, what’s happened?” Sophia said, surfacing from her stare and feast.

“You mean while you’ve been shoving food in your face and staring at Snoughel?” Lily snapped.

“Yeah, that,” she said, ignoring Lily’s sharp response.

“Nothing,” Lily sighed, dejected. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Right,” Sophia said. “I’m off to bed. Do you know the password, Lily?”

“ _Ignigena praepes,”_ she said. “Night.” 

“Goodnight,” she said. “See you tomorrow.” She gave Lily and Michelle each one last hug before walking off.

Lily yawned. “I’d better take the first years up, then I’m going to turn in as well,” she said to Michelle. 

“Fine,” she said sullenly. Lily looked down, and noticed that her food hadn’t been touched.

“You’re not eating?” she said. “Don’t listen to Black and Potter; they don’t mean it. They’re just being horrible, as always—” 

“I’m just not hungry, okay?” 


	3. Of Teachers, Men, and Lost Innocence

 

**And Chapter Three is finally out! I'm oh so very sorry it took so long. I'll do better in the future. I think that one of my reasons for a lack of motivation was my lack of reviews. I only have six. So seriously, please review, and I'll make an effort to review the stories I read. If you are reading this for the first time or reviewing for the first time, I really don't mind if you review the two earlier chapters...and now, enjoy!**  
  
*****

Lily awoke at six-thirty the following morning, courtesy of a small Muggle alarm clock that she had brought from home after the Christmas holidays in her first year. She usually tried to be the first one up so that she could get in the shower before her dorm-mates. 

“Welcome back, Lily,” she blearily muttered as she stepped under the steaming hot water. The water had a tendency to clear her thoughts, so in addition to every morning, Lily had a habit of showering every time stress fell. This morning, however, her problems were more due to nerves than stress; the first day of school tended to have that effect on her.

As she rinsed the last of the shampoo from her hair and wrapped the fluffy yellow towel around her torso, Lily hummed a Beatles tune that she had heard playing from Petunia’s record player throughout the summer. Then, Lily heard a sound that she had never heard at Hogwarts before.”You done yet in there, Lily?” Michelle’s cheerful voice called through the keyhole. “Lily?” she said once again, rapping smartly on the oak door. 

“Just a minute!” she called back, securing the towel around her and pulling back the latch on the door. “You’re up early,” Lily commented.

“Yeah, I’ve been up since six,” Michelle said casually. “I didn’t even know breakfast was open this early; there weren’t very many people there.”

“I can imagine,” Lily laughed. “But it opens at five.”

“Bloody hell!” Michelle said in shock. “I don’t think I’ve ever _seen_ that time.”

Lily laughed. “I wouldn’t think so. I’ve only been up that early a few times during exams.”

“Typical Lily,” Michelle teased. “Speaking of typical, you might want to start waking up Sophia. You know it’ll take her a while to get ready and we have to be down at seven-thirty to get schedules.”

“What time is it now?” 

“Almost six-fifty.” Lily looked up in alarm.

“Yeah. I thought that’d surprise you.”  
  
*****

At seven-thirty-six, Lily and Michelle walked into the Great Hall, followed by an eye-rolling Sophia. 

“Who _cares_ if we’re a few minutes late?” she grumbled. Lily and Michelle exchanged glances.

“Hillary isn’t even down here yet, anyway!” she complained.

“Hillary will show up soon,” Lily reprimanded her. “She’s just—“

“She’s just rolling up her skirt, unbuttoning her blouse, and putting on loads of makeup, that’s what she’s doing!” Sophia groused, seizing a small white coffee mug from the stack in the center of the table. “Oy! You there!” she snapped at the dark-haired first year who was occupying the coffee pot. “Pass that over now!” The girl looked up, wide-eyed, and hurriedly shoved the pot over to where Sophia was sitting.

“That’s good stuff,” she said a bit more civilly as she poured black coffee down her throat. “You gonna eat?” she said, eying Michelle’s empty plate.

“Nah, I got up early. I already ate. I’d take some of that coffee though,” she said, taking a few gulps from Sophia’s mug before she could protest.

“You bitch!” Sophia gasped.

“You love me anyway,” Michelle said, blowing her a kiss.”You know me too well,” she said, once again immersed in her coffee.   
  
*****

Although Robbie and Darren had helped Professor McGonagall to pass out the year’s schedules, it still took a good half-hour to pass out all of the schedules.

“Oh, good. Defense Against the Dark Arts first!” Lily exclaimed. “We’ll get to find out who the new teacher is!”

“Goody,” Sophia said sarcastically from behind her copy of the Daily Prophet.

“Whatever happened to Professor Senextan, anyway?” Michelle asked.

“Retired,” Lily said.

“But she’d only worked here for a year!” 

“She was _old,”_ Lily said. Their previous teacher had looked as if she could be Dumbledore’s fairy godmother; she had been tiny, wrinkled, and favored pink sparkled robes. 

“So’s Dumbledore. And Flitwick,” Sophia reminded them. “And I don’t see _them_ retiring.”

“Oh, stuff if, Fee,” Michelle said. “You hated Senextan! You poured Gugglmucks Fairy Laughing Dust all over her room!”

“She was a miserable old bat!” Sophia said incredulously.

“She was a sweet old lady and that dust gave her hives for weeks! I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the reason she left!’

“You can thank me later. We’d better get to class if we don’t want to be late.   
  
*****

“My name is Kaspar Sokerine.” They heard the voice before they saw him. A hoarse, quiet voice with a light accent. “I will be your teacher this year.”

Professor Sokerine could be easily called ancient, yet somehow expressed an aura of youth. He had a snowy shock of white hair, a full beard of the same color, and pale, almost translucent skin. He wore jet-black robes that appeared to be of a woolen material; in any other classroom Lily would have thought this odd but upon entering, she noticed that Professor Sokerine kept his room at a very low temperature. 

“These seats are not your permanent seats,” he said, pale gaze sweeping over the clusters of students. “By the end of the week you will have the seats that you will be sitting in for the rest of the year.”

“You will have two double classes with me a week,” he went on, “and the rest will be short. In the normal-length classes, you will be studying the theory of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Your double classes will be practical. There will be no slacking off in this class. I am here to teach you one subject and one subject only—everything else can and will be done in your spare time. Homework will not be assigned often, but I expect it to be done and turned in when it is.”

He surveyed the silent class in front of them. “Any questions?” he said, hands clasped behind them. “Excellent,” he said crisply. “We’ve got an hour left and a lot to review. Let’s start on some basic defense spells…”  
  
*****

The first week of school passed by in a blur. Classes began, routines were set. Everything stayed the same, except for one thing.

“Jamesey, my man!” Sirius Black cried as he strode into his dorm at three o’clock Saturday morning.

“Bloody hell, Black!” James said groggily, reaching for his glasses. “What do you want?”

“I’ve done it,” Sirius said, collapsing on James’s bed. “I’ve become a man.”

“What are you—oh. Romeya,” he said, comprehension dawning. “How was she? What was it like.”

“It was bloody brilliant, mate. Best shag I’ve ever had.”

“Sirius, _anyone_ would be the best shag you’d ever had. If it had been Evans you were meeting in the Astronomy Tower instead of Romeya, she’d have been the best shag simply by default.”

“James, James, James,” Sirius sighed. “I’d _never_ meet Evans in the Astronomy Tower. For one, I’d never stoop that low. I’m much too good for her. For another, Evans doesn’t know how to have fun.”

“Bit cocky, aren’t you?”

“James, my lad,” Sirius sighed, stretching. “You don’t know what it’s like. I’m a changed man.”

“Can’t believe I let you get ahead,” James said, sulking quietly.

“Not for long, James. Not for long.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lets just say that if you were to ask Hillary Welsh out for Saturday night, she wouldn’t say no. I bet you could score.” James looked at him incredulously. “What? A little bird named Romeya told me.”

Sirius turned out to be right, which would be a rare occurrence for the next few years. The next morning at breakfast, James had mustered up his strength and asked Hillary out. 

That night, armed with a basket of food stolen from the kitchen that he and Sirius had found third year, he met Hillary in the North Astronomy Tower. Over a meal of roast chicken sandwiches, James discovered that Hillary was not just an extraordinarily pretty face—because of her looks, he had always deemed her flighty and shallow—on the contrary, she was actually rather intelligent and pleasant to talk to. 

When Hillary leaned in and gave James his very first kiss, he thought that he might like her quite a bit. When her hand traveled south, he knew for sure that he liked her a lot. When Hillary, devoid of clothing, eased herself onto James’s equally naked body, he knew for sure that he loved her.

He woke up a few hours later, the tower lit only by the slightest glimmer of the rising sun. To his left sat the empty basket, a few crumbs spilling out of the open lid. To his right only the fleeting scent of Hillary’s perfume remained, the only proof that the night had happened.   
  
*****  
  


**And that was the long-awaited Chapter Three. It's not up to my standards either--but I wanted to get Professor Sokarine in, and I also wanted to show a bit of James. Plans for Chapter Four are in the mix and I hope it won't take quite so long to get that one out. I'd like to remind you again to review because that really would inspire me to write more.**

**Characters Introduced:** ****

Professor Konrad Sokarine 

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Bonuses: 

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Anyone who can figure out the origin and signifigance of Professor Sokarine's name. Review with your answer--it's very very signifigant to the plot. 

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Next Chapter: 

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More characters introduced. Changes in roles. The Marauders as we know them, perhaps? Love is in the air! And more drama with Petunia... 

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Reviews are much appreciated. I won't write more without them... 

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Throughthemist

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